Margin on speaker sales by high end dealer

I assume those of you throwing stones also refuse to use internet tools to find the dealer pricing on that new auto you are considering? Why are audio dealers a protected class?

Why would you assume that? It’s just a flat-out wrong assumption. There’s no fear, and audio dealers are not a “protected class.”  The OP was implying audio dealers make a lot of money most of the time for doing next to nothing, which is oversimplified and just not true — witness the ever-shrinking number of brick-and-mortar audio stores. And yes you could say the same thing about auto dealers and it would still be wrong for much the same reason. But that said, if anything auto dealers are the more protected class because almost all cars have to be bought from a dealership where they all have the same overhead costs to bear whereas audio components can frequently be purchased online from a site with next to no overhead. Apples and oranges in that regard.

Fair enough and my assumption may have oversimplified. Car dealers are in fact protected by state dealer laws. All that being true, if the OPs experience has been that his dealer is acting purely as a middleman without the service that some of the best provide, I still do not see his questions as being over reaching. And prepping oneself for a negotiation is prudent in my opinion. Further, the reduction in audio dealers Is not dissimilar to a consolidation in nearly every space- maybe even more so due to a shrinking customer base, suppliers consolidation causing a change in focus. I don’t intend to create argument- my initial point was that the OP has a right to gain as much knowledge as possible to negotiate his best deal.  

Gross margin is usually 40-60%, which means dealers charge 100% mark-up on cost of goods. Depending on the brand it's sometimes higher or lower. 

So I buy a jbl bw or klipsh group of speakers and some equipment with delivery from a 3 man shop and I pay 20 thousand.  The product cost is 12k and his gross profit is 8k, a 40% margin.
This is helpful to know. Thanks.

40% profit margin may seem like a lot, but it's not.  There are so many costs to run a proper business, not to mention the state and federal taxes the business must pay.  Overhead, in total, consumes a very high percentage of the profit that a business makes.  Consumers only see what is up front, such as the employee they interface with.  That is only the beginning of the cost of operations.  Of course, a lot depends on the total sales volume that a dealership accomplishes over the business year.  Smaller dealers will have fewer employees and larger dealers will have more.  The list of business operating costs goes on and on.  On average, a dealer of this industry needs to make about 45% annual gross margin in order to keep the business running and take home a respectable paycheck for him/herself.  Speakers at 45%, electronics at 40%, cables and accessories typically at 55% to 60%.  Most dealers nowadays are very willing to negotiate a discount of around 10% +-  That is a great service to their customer and leaves the dealer with a respectable profit, providing they do sell enough units to keep the business successful.  The fewer the unit sales the more difficult it becomes for that dealer to provide such a discount and remain in business.  Keep that in mind when you do business with a smaller dealer.